12/7/2000:
Alyssa is basically done with her tests.  She has one more next week, but it's a hearing test and that's pretty easy - in fact she enjoys that one because they make a game out of it.  We met with the Doctor on Tuesday and he filled us in on the tests results and next steps.  Unfortunately, the test results showed that the tumor has not really shrunk and is still metabolically active - alive.  That's not good, but not necessarily bad either.  The reason is a little complicated and we don't fully understand but it's basically like this:  there are two types of cells in her tumor mass; a bad one and a not so bad one.  The Chemo she has been receiving targets the bad cells but doesn't really have an effect on the not so bad cells.  What everyone hopes has happened is that the Chemo has killed ALL the bad cells and that just the not so bad cells are the ones still alive.  However, there's no way to tell what type of cells are alive without taking them out are studying them.  Unfortunately, they'll never be able to remove 100% of the tumor - it's too big and too close to vital parts.   The next step is surgery to remove as much as they safely can.  Surgery is scheduled for January 17th.

Hopefully, when they study the removed portion of the tumor, they will find absolutely NO bad cells.   Assuming that the tumor is fairly homogeneous, that will mean there's a pretty decent chance that there are no bad cells left inside her body.  Then we'll cross our fingers and pray that the tumor does not grow any further.  However, if they do find some bad cells in the removed portion of the tumor, that that will mean there's a pretty decent chance that there ARE bad cells still left inside her body - NOT GOOD.  This would probably mean more Chemo treatments with more powerful drugs (ie. much more side effects and likely long stays in the hospital, etc....).  For now we can only hope and pray that the surgery goes well and that all the bad cells have been killed.

I have been listening to what everyone has been telling us and have come to what I believe is a realistic conclusion (Denise would call it pessimistic rather than realistic).  It doesn't appear likely that we will ever hear the definitive good news answer we are hoping for (ie. "the cancer is 100% killed").  It seems there will always be some doubt as to whether it was all killed and removed.  It appears that Alyssa will have a lifetime of testing to make sure the cancer is not growing.  One Day at a Time!!!

We did have a bit of a complication for the last test today.  Last night, Chelsea and Alyssa were playing in the family room.  They were swimming in the ocean trying to avoid the sharks. When Alyssa was swimming (laying down on the floor), Chelsea saw a shark and grabbed Alyssa's left arm and pulled her out of the ocean.  Well, she pulled at a very awkward angle and really hurt Alyssa's elbow.  We're not exactly sure what happened, but it appears she dislocated her elbow.  As you might imagine, Alyssa was in a lot of pain and didn't want to move her arm at all.  During the rest of the night, she did move it occasionally, so we knew it wasn't broken.  We decided to wait until morning and see how things were.  When morning came, she was still complaining that it hurt.  It didn't seem worse, but it wasn't any better.  We had to be at the hospital at Noon for some tests so we decided to ask them to look at it.  They ran a bunch of tests (X-Ray, Ultrasound, etc..).  Everything looked OK but they saw some evidence that it may have been dislocated.  While she was under anesthesia, they put a soft cast on her arm and gave her some morphine for the pain.  She's doing fine now and doesn't seem to mind the cast.  I think we'll be able to take it off Sat or Sunday.  If it isn't one thing, it's another!

12/3/2000:
Alyssa had about half of her scheduled tests this past week.  She had a EKG, PET Scan, and a CT Scan.  The tests really aren't all that hard for her - it's the preparation.  The PET & CT scans require that she fasts several hours before the tests - that's the hard part.  During the scans she is either sedated or anesthetized.   She's a bit crabby after waking up, but that's about all.  We usually make a trip to Wendy's for some Chicken Nuggets.  This time she wanted a Frosty and French Fries - literally.  She took each French Fry and scooped up some Frosty until all the fries were gone.

The weekend was pretty fun.  Saturday was a Daddy and the Girls weekend - Denise went to the Greektown Casino with the Ross women.  Daddy and the Girls went to Open Gym at the gymnastics school.  They both had a great time!  On Sunday, we all went to church together for the first time in a long time - Alyssa should be strong enough for bigger crowds.  Then we went to the movies and saw "The Grinch That Stole Christmas".  The kids & I liked it; Denise doesn't like Jim Carey - 'nuff said.  The it was off to the fish store for a couple more fish.     

11/26/2000:
The Thanksgiving weekend is almost over now.   The whole family had a pretty fun and busy weekend.  Each day we had something (several) things to do.  Most were fun things: Dinner at Grandma Ross's, Jonathon's birthday party at Grandma Swanson's, Trevor's birthday at the Kornaga's, plenty of shopping, etc....
Unfortunately, not all of the events were in the fun category.  A close neighbor from my old neighborhood passed away suddenly this past week.  I won't mention her name to protect the family's privacy.  She was my parents age (very young) and had been dealing with cancer for a little while.  Her original cancer location had gone into remission, but she just found out cancer had developed in another part of her body.   Then last Sunday, she died of a heart attack at home.  Of course it hit the family and all of their friends pretty hard.

It's frightening to think of all the people we know touched by cancer.  It makes you wonder if cancer is becoming more common or if the Doctors are just becoming better at identifying it.  I hope it's the latter.....

Up next for Alyssa is about a week and a half of tests.  These will be the same types of tests she had after her fourth round of Chemo.  Most are pretty easy, some are not - they involve fasting and Alyssa hates that!  We're hoping that the news after the tests this time if surgery and not more Chemo.  More Chemo will mean they think the cancer is still alive; Surgery will mean they think it's in remission and want to take out as much of the dead tumor as possible.  Keep your fingers crossed and the prayers coming.

11/14/2000:
Alyssa is handling her 8th Chemo treatment just about as well as the previous treatments.  Her attitude is very positive and she is playing with her friends and enjoying Pre-school.  We just came back from a Dad & Daughter grocery store trip.   We had a lot of fun.  It's the little things in life that are the best.

This morning she was very cute.  Alyssa has really learned to help us with her medicines and the daily dressing changes for her permanent IV.  Well, on Monday I went to the Doctor to have a mole-type thing removed.  The Doctor thought it looked suspicious and wanted to remove it and have it tested.  It was a pretty minor procedure, but I ended up with three stitches.  The Doctor said to clean the area everyday and to replace the dressing - much like what we have to do for Alyssa's permanent IV.  This morning after my shower I told Alyssa that I had to clean my boo-boo and change my bandage.  Denise suggested to her that she go downstairs and get the stuff ready just like we do for her.  She was very excited and ran downstairs.  About 10 minutes later, I met her downstairs and she had done a great job of getting things ready.   She had the alcohol, antibacterial cream, gauze, tape, and scissors all prepared on the medicine tray we use for her.  She REALLY helped me remove my old dressing, clean the area, and apply the new dressing.  You could see in her eyes that she was very proud and happy to be helping her Dad with his boo-boo.

11/8/2000:
Alyssa is feeling pretty good attitude-wise today, but she has vomited a couple times already.  I guess this treatment has made her more nauseous than the others.   She's never really had this problem before.  At the moment, she's having a great time playing doll house by herself.

11/7/2000:
Today is Election Day and Alyssa's 8th (and hopefully final) Chemo day.  We arrived at the Cancer Center at 8:30 and left at about 3:30.  It was a long day, but it went by pretty quick.  I (Dirk) had the day off work.  Thanks to the UAW for negotiating that one and therefore trickling down to us salary employees.  Alyssa really wanted me to go last time.  I think she was happy both Mom and Dad were with her today.  Grandma & Grandpa Swanson paid Alyssa a surprise visit at the Cancer Center.  She was pretty surprised and excited to see them.

The Chemo went very well.  The first thing on the agenda was an exam by her doctor, Dr. Hughes.  As usual, Alyssa was a perfect patient and sat very still while he examined her.  This was especially handy because Dr. Hughes was training a new doctor and Alyssa sat still and was very patient while the new doctor used her as a training tool.  It was funny listening to Dr. Hughes because most of the time he was describing things NOT to do vs. the right way to do things.

Then it was off to the Infusion Area for the IV drugs.  First was an anti-nausea drug, then two Chemo drugs, then two hours of plain fluids for extra hydration.  They really pump her full of fluids because some of the Chemo drugs can be very damaging to the liver if they are not properly flushed through her system.  Alyssa handled the treatment very well and is in good spirits.  It's 7:30 and she's still going strong.   She's complained a little about "her belly hurting", but that's pretty normal on a Chemo day.

The next thing for her will be another series of tests just after Thanksgiving.   Assuming the test result are as expected, then she'll have surgery the first or second week in December to remove as much of the tumor as possible.  They already know they will never be able to remove it all, but hopefully what they leave behind will be dead and not a threat.  Let's keep our fingers crossed!

11/2/2000:
Nothing really new to report on Alyssa other than her hair is really starting to grow again.  She's got some fuzzies starting to become obvious.  She is especially proud of the tuft of hair just above the back of her neck that seems to be the longest.

Check out the new Halloween page for more pictures of the kids.  The page is a little rough - we're still working on it.

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Last Updated: 05/13/03